Trump: 'If I Get The Nomination, I Will Win The Hispanic Vote!'
LAS VEGAS (CBS) -- Trump was on the stump Saturday, campaigning in Las Vegas and Phoenix.
The real estate mogul is still getting a lot of heat for linking undocumented immigrants to rapists and murderers in the U.S., but he told the crowds, he thinks he can get Latinos to vote for him anyway.
"If I get the nomination, I will win the Hispanic vote!" he said. "They're sending criminals to us and we're putting those criminals in jail, often times after they've killed somebody or hurt somebody."
Saturday, Trump adviser Michael Cohen told CNN's Michael Smerconish, the GOP candidate didn't direct his original remarks at regular people.
"He did not say Mexicans, and he certainly did not say Latinos. He said Mexico, and he was referring to the Mexican government," said Cohen.
But that clarification didn't satisfy protesters who rallied outside the candidate's event in Los Angeles, last Friday.
"He is an ignorant racist and we don't want him in California," said one demonstrator.
Trump supporters, on the other hand, strongly identify with the candidate's views. Saturday's rally in Phoenix was so big, it had to be moved to a larger venue to accommodate the crowd.
Recent polls show Trump's support is growing among Republicans. GOP frontrunner Jeb Bush is the only candidate ahead of him in the polls. Last week, Bush said Trump's views about immigration don't represent the views of most Republicans.
Just hours after the shooting death of a San Francisco woman on Pier 14, Trump renewed calls to secure U.S. borders because the suspect was an undocumented Mexican national.
Francisco Sanchez had been detained as a person of interest shortly after allegedly shooting 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle as she walked along the pier with her father.
